


Stolen Dance

by orphan_account



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: AU, Almost Kiss, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dancing, F/M, M/M, Modern Day, UST, Unresolved Sexual Tension, frank sinatra music ayyy, teaching how to dance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-11-08
Packaged: 2018-02-18 11:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2347073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Eddie grips just a bit more tightly at Sebastian’s back, keeping him near, and Sebastian feels his gut twist. He digs his fingers into Eddie’s shoulder just a little harder, almost possessive all of a sudden as his breath hitches.</i>
</p><p> </p><p>  <i>He realizes he doesn’t want to let go.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the song Stolen Dance by Milky Chance. You should totally give it a listen- it's fantastic. This is my first foray into the TF2 fandom, and this idea has been kicking around my head for a while so I decided to see where it went. I pictured it in a sort of modern day setting, perhaps a few decades earlier. But no war, and, well, I gave them names because writing "Sniper" and "Spy" in this setting wouldn't have made all that much sense.
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoy and all kudos and comments are wholeheartedly accepted and appreciated!

If there was a single word that Sebastian had to choose to describe himself it would be precise. From childhood it was burned into his psyche, not by choice nor circumstance, but rather by chance. It had followed him even overseas, from France to New York where he now resided comfortably. It was evident in the way he held himself; crisp, aligned, and sharp. It even presented itself in the spaces around him, from everything to the coveted and organized bookshelf to the spotless kitchenette in his apartment to his well-kept bedroom and orderly wardrobe.

So when he takes a sip of cold mint tea, left clearly forgotten on the coffee table in front of him, Sebastian is more than confused. Slipping his book shut, he glares at the offending mug of tea as if it had personally assaulted him, before he checks the clock. Nearly eight o’clock. Two hours had slipped past unnoticed. He furrows his brow and scowles, standing with the mug of tea in hand to pour it out in the sink and give it a rinse.

A certain kind of unsettling feeling pools in his stomach as he stands over the sink, scrubbing perhaps a little unnecessarily hard at the mug before clunking it into the drying rack. Leaning on the counter, a tight sigh finds itself trapped between his lungs and his mouth, but he has little time to ponder it before a knock at his door cracks his concentration.

“He’s late,” Sebastian mutters, bracing himself on the sink before sucking in a breath. Wasting no time, he’s across the apartment and unlocking the door, an unimpressed look upon his face. “You’re late,” he reiterates, stepping aside to let his guest in as he runs a hand through his hair out of something akin to exasperation.

“It’s only 8:06, calm down,” the man retorts in a thick Australian accent, fidgeting uneasily with the sleeves of his green plaid button down. It’s clear that he’s not entirely pleased with the situation at hand, but Sebastian doesn’t let that deter him. He and Eddie had struck up a strange sort of friendship over the past few months, being hallmates and all that, so when he found out that he had managed a date yet didn’t know how to dance, Sebastian took it into his own hands to amend this.

“And you’re supposed to meet her at 9:30, are you not, Edward?” Sebastian closes the door and ushers the taller man inside. “I’m sure your woman would love to know how close you’re cutting it, learning how to dance.”

“Shut up,” Eddie huffs, moving awkwardly behind Sebastian as they settle in the main room. There isn’t much room by any means, what with the small space the apartment allots them and the couch and coffee table, but it’s enough to learn the basic steps-- and Eddie absolutely refused to take the lesson in any other setting. While perhaps a bit ridiculous, Sebastian did understand the need to maintain one’s ego and pride and all that, so he had acquiesced.

“Sinatra, alright?” He moves to slide a record on, glancing over his shoulder at his friend who nods stiffly. “Loosen up. I’m feeling uncomfortable just looking at you.” Eddie makes a pointed effort to stop wringing his hands, but Sebastian doesn’t miss the way his foot immediately starts tapping. He rolls his eyes and considers it a lost cause. The beginning notes of ‘ _I Hadn’t Anyone Till You_ ’ start to roll and swell through the room, and Sebastian allows himself a small smile at the crooning voice and sweet melody before wiping it off his face.

“Shall we?” He asks Eddie, turning around sharply on his heel, hands behind his back. He takes a step closer and watches with quiet amusement as he friend somehow manages to flail without making a single move. “You do know the basic position, do you not?” he baits.

“I- uh…”

“Oh, you really are pathetic, aren’t you?” Sebastian smirks and moves into Eddie’s space, grabbing for his wrists.

“Oi, what’re you doing?” He tries to free himself, but Sebastian can tell it’s a half-hearted attempt and waits for him to settle.

“Stop complaining and just cooperate, you uncoordinated pig.”

“You really know how to lay on the charm,” Eddie mutters, openly scowling as he lets his limbs be rearranged.

“I assume you will be dancing the part of the man?” Sebastian can’t help but jab, placing Eddie’s right hand on his waist and his own hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “And-” he clasps their other hands together, “you will hold on tight to her hand like so, guiding her through the moves.” A beat. “You got that?”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Eddie mumbles, the barest hint of a red flush tinting the tips of his ears, Sebastian notices, and something about it throws him momentarily off.

“Ah, good,” he clears his throat, refocusing on the task at hand. Right. Dancing. “So, as the lead, she will be mirroring your moves. For just tonight, we’ll teach you the basic box step- even someone with your lack of skill should be able to manage that.”

“Don’t make me hit you,”

“I’d like to see you try,” Sebastian counters, smirking fiendishly. Eddie pointedly looks away.

“Just shut up and teach, you wanker.”

“So demanding…”

With that, Sebastian sniffs and gets to work, pointing out tips and correcting Eddie’s position, the record spinning away in the background as feet fumble and trip over themselves. Sebastian can’t help the laughter that trickles out of his mouth after a fairly dramatic mishap during ‘ _Come Rain or Come Shine_ ,’ ending with Eddie bumping into the coffee table and tumbling over it onto the couch. He clamps a hand over his mouth when he threatens to start snorting, something he’s not terribly fond of by any means.

By the time ‘ _Prisoner of Love_ ’ comes on, Sebastian figures that Eddie’s got the basics of the box step down well enough, and that it’s time for the final instruction. Without warning, he pulls Eddie in flush against his chest. “And this, mon ami, is how you’ll, as Americans say, ‘seal the deal.’” He can feel the other man’s chest beating rapidly against his, blue eyes blinking rapidly at the sudden transition. Sebastian rolls his eyes. “Pah, don’t tell me you’re nervous about this? Relax or you’ll never get that kiss,” he waggles his eyebrows.

“I’m- I’m fine. I think I know enough to-” Eddie starts to pull away, but Sebastian keeps him in close, increasingly amused by his friend’s embarrassment. Had he known Eddie would get so worked up about a girl, he would’ve tried setting him up far earlier.

“Please, you clearly still have trouble telling your lefts and rights apart- you need all the instruction you can get.”

“...Fine,” a sigh, “but hurry.”

“Mon dieu, you’re a mess.” Sebastian rests his head on Eddie’s shoulder. “This will be for the end of the evening, when the songs become even slower. It’ll be the perfect setup to the big romantic finish- is that not what you’re aiming for?”

Eddie grunts and lets himself be swayed.

And maybe it’s the quiet droning of the music, or maybe the warmth of another body against his, but Sebastian finds himself relaxing into the foreign touch, feet moving slowly as he melts into the moment. His heart aches in a strange way. ‘ _That’s All_ ’ comes on and the pair continues to move in silence, only their breathing barely audible as Sinatra croons in the background, the velvety texture of the music wrapping them in a safe bubble plucked neatly out of time. Eddie grips just a bit more tightly at Sebastian’s back, keeping him near, and Sebastian feels his gut twist. He digs his fingers into Eddie’s shoulder just a little harder, almost possessive all of a sudden as his breath hitches.

He realizes he doesn’t want to let go.

His hand moves on its own accord, almost as if an invisible string tugs it along and up Eddie’s shoulder, savoring the scrape of stubble along his jawline as he reaches it. He pulls his head away slowly and looks at Eddie, their eyes meeting much like the way planets align in the sky, and with a nod, almost imperceptible, they both know there’s something there, a painful half-admitted truth. It feels like it does when a word is suddenly lost on the tongue mid-sentence.

Sebastian tilts his head up, wetting his bottom lip before leaning in, the two of them drawing closer until, hearts racing.

And then it all collapses. The song ends, effectively breaking the moment, and Sebastian snaps out of the ethereal trance, slumping as he pulls away. He clears his throat awkwardly as he fights the heat that fills his face, and he watches Eddie shuffle and readjust his shirt collar unnecessarily.

“I, ah, believe you’ve got it down, mon ami,” Sebastian says, no real emotion behind the words. He blinks a few times, mind processing if that had all really happened, or if he’s perhaps in some fever dream miles away in some hospital.

“Yeah, uh, thanks, mate.” Eddie steps further away, moving towards the door. “I should probably,” he points towards the exit, “get going. Don’t wanna keep her waitin’, you know?”

Sebastian nods.

“Of course.”

With that, they exchange awkward nods once again before Eddie slips out the door, effectively leaving Sebastian alone. He unbuttons the sleeves of his shirt and rolls them back down, smoothing down his sweatervest just in order for something to do as he stands there.

“Merde,” he curses under his breath, a sudden flare of anger pulsing through him as he moves to the kitchen, hastily throwing together a new mug of mint tea.

He hopes that this time he won’t miss his opportunity and let it go cold.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tying up loose ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sorta just wrote this on a whim, so I apologize for any mistakes or inconsistencies found within. Hopefully for whatever I write next I'll plan it a little better, but this has been bugging me for a few weeks I decided to just get it over with. I hope you enjoy though, and all feedback of any kind is appreciated!

Sebastian rolls the tea bag over in his fingers, inspecting the grainy sachet for really no discernible reason. Perhaps it was in hopes of a distraction of sorts, some sort of last ditch effort to break the tether between his thoughts and the events that had just occurred between Eddie and himself. He closes his eyes and the other man’s face flashes briefly before him; eager, wanting, yet somehow still so painfully hesitant.

The whine of the kettle boiling breaks his concentration. He pours himself a tall mug of hot water and lets the tea bag slip in, falling helplessly into the steaming water. He rests his hands on the counter and breathes, willing the thoughts away as he grabs the mug and takes it to the living room along with a novel plucked from his bookshelf. Perhaps Dickens would clear his mind enough to ease his nerves for the rest of the evening.

As he works through the first couple of chapters of Great Expectations (an old favorite), Sebastian finds himself relaxing, engrossed deeply in the story of Pip and Miss Havisham yet again. Nearly an hour passes, his tea again left uncharacteristically forgotten on the coffee table, as he slumps further into the armchair, sleep wrapping itself around him like a comforting blanket. His eyes begin to droop just as someone delivers three sharp knocks to his door, jolting Sebastian into an upright position. He pauses, listening, now very aware of the rain that seems to have picked up at some point during the evening.

Three more knocks at his door sound through his empty apartment, no more urgent than they were before; still casual, calculated. Sebastian slides noiselessly out of his chair and slinks towards the door to peer through the peephole. He can’t help but raise his eyebrows at the sight that greets him and sucks in a breath, cursing quietly. Sebastian considers backing away, feigning absence or sleep or perhaps even illness, but as the back on the other side of his door begins to retreat down the hallway, he finds himself fumbling to undo the lock.

“Date go that badly?”

Eddie turns around, hair and clothes dripping with rain water, a tired flush adorning his features as if he’d ran here. He gives a very normal smile, belying nothing much to Sebastian’s annoyance. “Thought you’d gone to sleep.”

In lieu of an answer, Sebastian steps to the side of his doorway and motions for Eddie to step inside. “Well,” he says expectantly when Eddie doesn’t move immediately. “Get in before I change my mind and do exactly that,” he replies huffily, putting on more of a show than necessary. Eddie understands and grins at Sebastian as he enters.

“Thanks, Seb.”

“Someone seems to be in better spirits than earlier this evening- perhaps the date didn’t go that badly after all?” Sebastian quips, closing the door as he inspects Eddie’s depressingly wet state. He notices that Eddie doesn’t give a response, but instead starts to move forward as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Sebastian places a hand on the other man’s chest to stop him, stopping Eddie in his tracks. They share a confused gaze. “Strip,” is all that comes out of Sebastian’s mouth.

Eddie shrugs and starts to get undressed there on the spot, but Sebastian backpedals quickly. “I meant in the bathroom. You’re not getting my apartment filthy. I’ll go look for some clothes in my room while you get,” he motions vaguely with his hand at Eddie, “this, all sorted out. You know where the shower is.”

“Well you should be more bloody specific, then,” Eddie quips, and Sebastian can’t help but feel the strangest bit suspicious at his friend’s easy mannerisms in this certainly out of place situation. He still hasn’t mentioned one thing about his date this evening. For all Sebastian knows, she could’ve been part of the Russian mafia and they’re on their way here right now to take out Eddie and any witnesses.

“You’re disgusting,” is what Sebastian settles for instead, rolling his eyes as he retreats to his bedroom. “I’ll find some clothes you can borrow and then we can gossip about your date like little schoolgirls afterward, which I’m sure is why you’re here,” he adds with a clipped tone.

Eddie just nods, clearly amused. “Thanks, mate.”

Sebastian scowls.

Once in his room, Sebastian pulls out a pair of sleeping pants and one of the larger shirts he owns, hoping that it’ll fit Eddie. He inspects it carefully, something building in the background noise of his brain, a small buzzing like a fly that won’t die, whizzing in and out, close and far somehow all at once. It itches at his psyche, gnawing at his composure that he hadn’t even realized was being tested. Sebastian resists the urge to crumple the clothes in his grasp, and instead swaps them for the sopping wet ones that lay limply on the floor, popping them into his dryer before indulging in a smoke on the veranda.

The view isn’t great by any conventional standards, considering his apartment faces another building right across the street, but for a man like Sebastian that was all the view he needed. To him, people were the most interesting sight; their habits and rituals and daily routines brought him much to analyze and ponder. He considered himself fairly deft at reading people and picking up their mannerisms, and it was for that reason why he found himself irritated immensely by Eddie on more than one occasion. For the most part he had his guard down just enough for Sebastian to get a glimpse, a generally vague impression, but there were times like right now where it was stoic ambivalence, a quietly content silence that gave no clue as to where Eddie’s thoughts were leaning.

Sebastian took a pull of his cigarette as the veranda door slid open and closed behind him, feet padding across the concrete. He let the hand over his shoulder reach for the cigarette and take a drag.

“You know,” Eddie said with an exhale, “the woman who lives over there,” he pointed towards the lower left of the building across the street, where a clothes lines sagged with sheets and shirts and various other articles of clothing, “is trying to have an affair.”

Sebastian raised a brow at the surprisingly astute observation. He’d noticed it a few weeks back now, but for Eddie to be able to pick up on that as well was intriguing.

“Impressive. What gave it away?” Sebastian asked, not turning around. “The late night silhouettes? The flirtatious way she caresses the milkman? The extra cigarettes she smokes afterwards to keep the guilt at bay?”

“Nah, none of that.”

“What then?” Sebastian is painfully curious now.

“She tried to take me on a date tonight,” Eddie says easily.

Sebastian all but sputters with a snort of laughter as he finally turns around, very aware suddenly of how close Eddie had gotten behind him. When he looks up and the hint of a smile appears on his friend’s face, and it’s that quick glimmer that is just enough for Sebastian to gather what’s going on. He feels his pulse quicken.

“Oh? And you politely declined then, I see?”

“Well, if I’m being honest-”

“I do hope you are-”

“I was a bit distracted when I got there,” Eddie says, moving in the slightest bit closer.

“Distracted how?” Sebastian baits, not entirely sure if he wants to fight or flight.

“Was thinking about other things,” Eddie shrugs, looking over Sebastian’s shoulder into the night rain, watching as it cascades down from where they’re perched on the veranda.

“Such as?” Sebastian feels his annoyance growing.

“This.”

And with that, Eddie sucks in a breath and leans in, capturing Sebastian’s lips in a kiss. He can taste the hesitance, the fear, the resistance against years of fighting something like this. But more importantly, he tastes the want, the need, the sheer warmth of joy from having another person, having Sebastian himself, so close by so intimately.

Sebastian pulls away first, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, but smirking nonetheless much like a cat who got the cream.

“Did you practice that in your head before you came over here?”

A shrug. “Maybe once or twice.”

“Well, we can practice once or twice more if that helps at all,” Sebastian said, moving in again for another kiss.

 

 


End file.
